Are you tired of the same old blog posts? In today’s world, it seems like every blogger is telling their readers how to grow an audience.
But what if I told you that there are some skills that bloggers aren’t focusing on enough?
If these 11 under-rated blogging skills were taught in school (and they should be), your career would jump forward by leaps and bounds.
1. Excellent Writing Skills:
Blogs are often all about catchy headlines, surprising stories, and attention-grabbing titles. The most successful bloggers have dexterous writing skills, which allow them to eloquently craft interesting posts and design eye-catching posts that attract readers with little effort on their part.
2. Marketing Skills
Blogging is a business and it requires skills in order to make your blog successful. It's not just about writing or designing; you need marketing skills as well, along with the ability to build relationships with your readers, in order to make a name for yourself and get more traffic.
3. Being Creative
Blogging is about being creative, and it requires you to be able to come up with unique content that will not only attract readers but also keep them coming back for more.
4. Website Optimization Skills:
Website optimization is a skill that will take you to the top of your blogosphere game, and it's something most bloggers don't know how to do without. A website is a representation of your blog, so it's important that you optimize it to ensure people can find the content they're looking for.
Here are some tips on how to make your blog more search engine friendly.
1. Keyword Research:
Keyword research is the foundation of your SEO game, and it's something that most bloggers don't do right. When you choose your blog name and start writing, you'll want to make sure that both of those things are optimized for search engines.
2. Content:
Content is the most important part of SEO because it's what people are looking for. You'll want to make sure that you're producing high-quality content on a regular basis so that search engines know they can trust your blog.
3. Structure:
The structure of your blog is very important because it tells search engines what they can expect to find on your site. If you have a lot of pages with the same content, then search engines will be confused and it will hurt your rankings.
4. Links:
Links are the currency of the internet, and if you want to rank high in search engines, then you'll need more links to your site. This is why it's important to make sure that you're linking out to other sites and encouraging others to link back to yours.
5. Mobile Friendliness:
If Google can't read your blog, then it can't index it.
6. Speed:
Search engines have begun to use page load speed as a ranking factor. If your site is slow and bloated, then it will hurt your rankings.
7. Use of Keywords
Although keyword usage is a long-term strategy, it's still important to make sure that you're using the right keywords in your blog posts.
8. Images:
Images are a great way to add some visual interest and break up the text on your page. Plus, if you use a relevant image then it can help with your rankings.
9. Social Media:
Social media is a great way to build relationships and drive traffic back to your blog. It's also an easy way for people to share your content.
10. Content-Length:
Longer blog posts tend to rank better than short ones, but that doesn't mean you should go crazy and write a novel for every post. Keep your content between 800 and 1,500 words long.
11. Backlinks:
Backlinks are still one of the most important ranking factors out there. You can get them by commenting on other blogs, guest blogging, and building relationships with other bloggers.
5. Time Management Skills:
Successful bloggers know how to manage their time and they set realistic goals for themselves that can be met in a timely manner without sacrificing sleep or leisure time. They figure out what they need to do and when it needs to be done, as well as the best way to tackle each task.
6. Blogging Ethics:
Good bloggers know that it's not all about them, and they always put their readers first. They don't steal content, they credit sources when appropriate, and they try to contribute value to the online community.
7. Researching Skills:
Researching skills are often overlooked when considering the list of things that will get you to where you want to be as a blogger. But one thing is for sure, without conducting research on your keywords, your competitors, and the market in general, you will not get far.
The research process may seem arduous at first, but once mastered, it becomes easier. You can start by following blogs related to your niche and seeing what they are writing about. If you have a blog already set up, then search for the same keyword on Google to see how many sites come up in the SERPs. This will give you an idea of how competitive your niche is.
Determine what keywords are being used in the blog posts and which ones are being searched for below their articles. A blogger's research skills are important because they will be required to research and write about various topics related to their blog's niche.
8. Listening Skills
Listening skills are a valuable skill that is easy to master if someone is willing to commit to improving their listening skills. Bloggers who improve their ability to listen, understand, and immerse themselves in the conversation will have more success connecting with their audience and getting more traffic for their blog.
9. Networking Skills:
Networking is a crucial skill for success as a blogger. According to author John C. Maxwell in his book "The 360 Degree Leader," it takes ten years to build a network, and only one year to ruin it.
It's not enough to just be in a room with people and hope for the best; you need to go out of your way to meet new people, learn about them, and connect with them.
Networking is a skill that can take you to the top. Here are ten skills that will help you build your network:
Be genuinely interested in others. Everyone likes to be around people who are genuinely interested in them and care about their lives.
Be a connector. Don't just meet new people; introduce them to one another. This can help them connect and form relationships.
Be a giver. If you give of yourself, others will want to be around you because they know that you have their best interest at heart.
Be a good listener. It's easy to talk about yourself, but the best networkers know how to draw others out and show interest in their lives.
Be a good communicator. You don't need to be the life of the party or have a loud voice, but you do need to communicate clearly and effectively.
Be humble. Be confident, but don't brag or boast.
Be a good teacher. If you have knowledge that others can benefit from, share it with them. This will make you the go-to person in your network.
Be an encourager. Find ways to encourage others.
Be a good listener. Don't just talk about yourself; actually, listen to what others have to say and respond in an appropriate manner. This will help you build strong relationships with others.
Be a good writer. You don't have to be the next Hemingway, but you should be able to write well enough that people will want to read what you have to say.
10. Strong Analytical Thinking Abilities
Analytical thinking is one of the most important skills for a blogger. This skill will help you think critically about your blog and how to create content that engages readers. This is an important skill because it will help you understand your blog and what readers want to see.
Analytical thinking is a skill that always has the potential for growth, which means as a blogger you are never too good to improve this skill.
11. Freelancing Skills:
Freelancing is a skill that you can use to help your blog grow. Freelancing will allow you to earn money while working on other projects, which means you won't have to put all of your time into one blog. Freelancing is also a skill that you will be able to use after you quit blogging.
Communication is one of the most important skills for freelancers, which is a skill that you will learn while blogging.
Conclusion
One important part of blogging is having an interesting voice. The personality that a blog has makes people interested in reading content from the blog. This helps the blogger attract more followers over time
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